Tittle-Tattle

Okay, so MUCH has happened since I last wrote, but since I don't have time to write it all down right now, I'll just give notice of some of the random things that are on my mind.

First and FOREMOST:
A thank you to my dear home church. I just received your email and am deeply touched and grateful for your wonderful generosity. You continue to be a huge part of my life and of my blessings, and I am so glad that God placed you in my live twelve years ago.

It's a Dog's World:
One of the strange little things I have noticed is the rather large population of stray dogs that roam about the streets. Back in the states, a crowd of six unattended dogs would be set upon by the local dog catchers. But here, they seem to have the run of the place. I kind of like the fact that they keep their freedom (I haven't seen a growling or biting one yet), but it also makes me sad to see them starving and shivering.

ITP (or the last four weeks of training):
The ITP, which I hope to write more on later, ends tomorrow. It has been crazy, hectic, and stressful at times, but I enjoyed it. Most mornings I woke up around 7:00 and did not get home till between 8:30 or 11:30. The mornings were spent going over classroom management and teaching techniques while the afternoons were spent relearning the grammar that most of us haven't learned since elementary school. I still enjoy the trainers and am continually thankful for their helpfulness. Jen (the director) and Rachel (a trainer) have been especially great.

My Classes:
My classes officially begin on Monday. As of today, I have 21 hours assigned to me, although under my contract, I can be assigned up to 30 hours. I will have two classes of pre-teens/teens and 4 classes of adults. All of my classes are in the afternoons and evenings, which means I have the mornings to sleep-in, lesson plan, and tour the city.

Friends:
I am fortunate to have already made some friends. For those who know me, I tend to be, not anti-social, but more just un-social. But, I have made a small group of friends over these past four weeks, and although most of them will be teaching in different towns, we should be able to meet up on the occasional weekend.

Lost:
One night last week, Alyssa and I were riding back on the train. We had just finished teaching the 7:00-9:20 class, which means our train ride began around 10:05. The trip to Krookava is usually between 45-50 minutes. However neither of us own a watch or a cell phone. We ended up missing our train stop. We probably would not have even realized it except that the train lady checking our tickets started gesticulating (with lots of emotion) to the platform the train had just pulled away from. No one on the train spoke both English and Russian, so between hand motions, we learned that the strange guy sitting behind us would let us know when to get off so that we could catch a return train. After about 30 minutes, we descended from our unintentional prison. However, we had no idea what to do or where to go from there.

Fortunately, one babushka on the train had been listening to the ticket lady's rant and understood that we were 1)foreign and 2) hopelessly lost and stranded. While she didn't speak English, she made it clear that we should follow her. She hailed another guy on the platform (we never did figure out if he was a stranger or her husband). Anyways, she followed him and we followed her. We literally hopped down from the platform (there were no stairs in sight) and ran across the two lanes of railroad tracks, only to climb through a hole in the fence. There sat a mini van. The man and woman motioned us inside.

Growing up, we are told to never ride with strangers. I now present an exception to that rule. When you are foreign and lost, sometimes you MUST accept rides with complete strangers whom you can't even understand. The man drove us around to the ticket counter for the train station. The woman motioned us to follow her again. In we went to the ticket counter, and before we could do anything, the women had bought both Alyssa and myself a ticket back to Krookava. She told us, and miraculously we understood, that Krookava is one stop away. GET OFF! Alyssa and I follow directions well. Thankfully we even made it back before the buses stopped their rounds. It was around 12:20 by the time I got home.

Closings:
So, this is a brief update on my life for the past weeks. I hope it is enough to sate your curious minds. Hopefully, I will 1) have more time to write and 2) have internet access in the near future.

Until then, I remain your constant
Russian traveller